The contrast between England and Scotland could hardly have been more stark, as this week the Scottish government announced an increase in funding for higher education in Scotland. Increasing by about 10% from £959 million to over a £1bn, it was a move welcomed by Universities Scotland, NUS Scotland and UCU Scotland.

Of course south of the border, 2012 is the year when the cuts really start to bite and tuition fees will treble, the uncertainty of the new era could well destabilise parts of the sector. For those who pushed for increasing tuition fees in England, the case was largely based on the premise the tax payer either could not afford, or should not be paying for higher education. The Scottish National Party have consistently held the position that they can both afford and should be paying for higher education out of the public purse, and at the last election in Scotland this was also the position of the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats too. Only the Conservative Party made it clear that tuition fees would return, in the incredibly unlikely event they were elected north of the border.

So it seems that higher education is arguably the area where devolution has allowed for the most diversified separation in policy between England and Scotland. Prospective students in England will surely be envious that their Scottish counterparts will continue to enjoy free tuition, as the cost of a degree in England is now set to hit £30,000.

Heading for a Fail… Black student admissions at Oxbridge

This week there was plenty of debate about the performance of Oxford and Cambridge Universities in ensuring more black students gained places at the respective institutions.

Although both universities were quick to highlight the improvement they have made over the last decade, it was countered by critics who felt the progress was still too slow. Figures from Oxford University's admissions showed that 32 black students has been accepted, a record for the last 10 years, and reflected an acceptance rate of 14%. This compares to an acceptance rate of 24% for white applicants. At Cambridge University although the number of black students fell slightly in 2010-11, the proportion of non-white students increased to just over 15%, a figure that was just 5% back in 1989.

Although the debate will continue to rage about the extent to which the UK's most selective universities are making sufficient strides to ensure they are attracting and accepting students from a diverse range of backgrounds, it's also worth remembering that so much of the infrastructure which had indeed aided some of the progress of the last decade like AimHigher and the Education Maintenance Allowance has just been scrapped. Continued progress will be harder to deliver, unless universities themselves are prepared to make substantial investment.